I’m hearing increasingly more dialogue about value-add investing (or maybe that’s just from reading every post in my daily Mattermark emails). But there doesn’t seem to be a consensus yet on what value-add is. So, here’s how I build-up value-add investing:

Investors: Invest capital in exchange for equity (or convertible debt) of a company.

The current market dynamic coupled with platforms like Angel List and Kickstarter is making capital more accessible, and therefore more of a commodity. Meanwhile, traditional active investors’ “services” such as relationships and financial guidance are now table stakes. You need them to participate. It’s the additional application of committed expertise that makes an investor value-add.